James MocFarlune, a late blooming 

 pink lilac 



Horticulture 



From 1941 to the mid-1950s, the thrust 

 of horticukural research under the 

 leadership of Professor Yeager was the 

 breeding of new varieties of hardy, 

 disease-resistant plants which would 

 produce high yields of superior qual- 

 ity fruits and vegetables. Another ob- 

 jective was identification of existing 

 varieties which matured early, were 

 productive and adapted to the harsh 

 climate of northern New Hampshire. 

 In this research, Yeager and Meader 

 worked as a team. In 1947 Meader 

 spent one year on a contract with the 

 U.S. Army Military Government of 

 Korea during which he gathered a wide 

 variety ofplant breeding materials. On 

 his return he came through Japan and 

 added to his collection. In subsequent 

 years at New Hampshire, the intro- 

 duction of these valuable genetic ma- 

 terials contributed to the development 

 of a great many new or improved vari- 

 eties of soybeans, fruits, vegetables, 

 nuts, flowering herbaceous plants and 

 shrubs (see Appendix 6). 



Although Yeager and Meader were 

 trained plant breeders, other depart- 

 ment members also contributed to the 

 breeding program. J. R. Hepler, a hor- 

 ticulturist, bred a hybrid eggplant 

 named 'New Hampshire', and began 

 selections which later resulted in the 

 'Merrimack Wonder' pepper. L. P. 

 Latimer developed 'Blaze' strawberry; 

 W. W. Smith, with Meader, selected 

 and hybridized blueberries; and W. D. 

 HoUey, J. MacFarlane, H. S. Clapp and 

 E. D. Risley originated new varieties of 

 shrubs and flowers. 



Plant propagation, plant nutrition 

 and cultural practices and variety test- 

 ing were not neglected, however. 

 Latimer found hay mulch superior to 

 sawdust or sod systems for apple trees 

 and showed that complete fertilizer 

 applied to hay-mulched trees de- 

 pressed yield. He determined that leaf 

 scorch ofapples, caused by magnesium 

 deficiency, could be controlled if the 

 grasses used for mulch were fertilized 

 with soluble magnesium compounds. 

 R. Eggert, a plant nuhitionist appointed 

 in 1951, in an early use of radioactive 

 materials, showed that phosphorus 

 applied in foliar sprays was absorbed 

 in large quantities and translocated 

 especially to buds and blossoms. Sun 

 scald on apple tree trunks in winter 

 was reduced by aluminum foil which 

 reflected light and reduced heat ab- 

 sorption. W. W. Smith, a blueberry 

 specialist, experimented with fertili- 

 zation of high and low bush types, 

 dusting to control the blueberry fruit 

 fly and use of chemicals to control 

 weeds in blueberry fields. Smith also 

 tested apple rootstocks for New 

 Hampshire apple varieties and devel- 

 oped improved grafting techniques for 

 apple trees. 



In the area of ornamentals, 

 MacFarlane and Holley released two 



29 



